US envoy to Haiti Daniel Foote quits, criticises migrant expulsions from Texas camp
- The diplomat said conditions in Haiti were so bad that US officials were confined to secure compounds
- The US has deported some 1,400 migrants from the Del Rio camp to Haiti
The US envoy to Haiti dramatically resigned on Thursday in a letter that excoriated Washington for deporting hundreds of migrants to the crisis-engulfed Caribbean nation from a border camp in recent days.
The resignation was confirmed by a senior official at the US State Department.
“I will not be associated with the United States’ inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants,” Daniel Foote said in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken that circulated publicly on Thursday.
Foote submitted his resignation to Blinken on Wednesday, a State Department spokesperson said, adding that Washington was committed to the long-term well being of Haiti, as well as offering immediate help to returning migrants.
Foote, a career diplomat named in July as special envoy to Haiti, said conditions in the country were so bad that US officials were confined to secure compounds.
He said the “collapsed state” was unable to support the infusion of returning migrants.
